diff --git a/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelCsvReaderTest.cs b/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelCsvReaderTest.cs
index b9dfad25..3355fffd 100644
--- a/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelCsvReaderTest.cs
+++ b/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelCsvReaderTest.cs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System.Data;
 using System.Text;
 
 namespace ExcelDataReader.Tests;
@@ -594,4 +595,20 @@ public void Issue614_BackslashEscapedQuote()
 
         Assert.That(row, Is.EqualTo(new object[] { "John", "Doe", "120 any st.", "\"Anytown\", WW", "08123" }));
     }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void FillMergedCellsValueDoesNotCrashOnCsv()
+    {
+        using var excelReader = ExcelReaderFactory.CreateCsvReader(Configuration.GetTestWorkbook(Path.Combine("csv", "comma_in_quotes.csv")));
+        DataSet result = excelReader.AsDataSet(new ExcelDataSetConfiguration
+        {
+            ConfigureDataTable = _ => new ExcelDataTableConfiguration
+            {
+                FillMergedCellsValue = true
+            }
+        });
+
+        Assert.That(result, Is.Not.Null);
+        Assert.That(result.Tables[0].Rows.Count, Is.EqualTo(2));
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelTestBase.cs b/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelTestBase.cs
index 4f7dccee..66ab745f 100644
--- a/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelTestBase.cs
+++ b/src/ExcelDataReader.Tests/ExcelTestBase.cs
@@ -1097,6 +1097,24 @@ public void AsDataSetTestFillEmptyCellsInMergedRangeUseHeaderRow()
         Assert.That(result.Tables[0].Rows[5][1], Is.EqualTo("Merge Cell 4"));
         Assert.That(result.Tables[0].Rows[5][2], Is.EqualTo("Merge Cell 4"));
     }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void AsDataSetFillMergedCellsValueWithNoMergeCells()
+    {
+        using IExcelDataReader excelReader = OpenReader("10x10");
+        DataSet result = excelReader.AsDataSet(new ExcelDataSetConfiguration
+        {
+            ConfigureDataTable = _ => new ExcelDataTableConfiguration
+            {
+                UseHeaderRow = true,
+                FillMergedCellsValue = true
+            }
+        });
+
+        Assert.That(result, Is.Not.Null);
+        Assert.That(result.Tables[0].Rows.Count, Is.EqualTo(9));
+        Assert.That(result.Tables[0].Columns.Count, Is.EqualTo(10));
+    }
     
     protected IExcelDataReader OpenReader(string name)
     {
diff --git a/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/BinaryFormat/XlsWorksheet.cs b/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/BinaryFormat/XlsWorksheet.cs
index 48a2f321..8b7a48c3 100644
--- a/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/BinaryFormat/XlsWorksheet.cs
+++ b/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/BinaryFormat/XlsWorksheet.cs
@@ -650,8 +650,7 @@ private void ReadWorksheetGlobals()
             Workbook.AddNumberFormat(biffFormat.Key, biffFormat.Value.GetValue(Encoding));
         }
 
-        if (mergeCells.Count > 0)
-            MergeCells = mergeCells.ToArray();
+        MergeCells = mergeCells.ToArray();
 
         if (!SinglePassMode)
         {
diff --git a/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/CsvFormat/CsvWorksheet.cs b/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/CsvFormat/CsvWorksheet.cs
index 567bc4ba..d54617a1 100644
--- a/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/CsvFormat/CsvWorksheet.cs
+++ b/src/ExcelDataReader/Core/CsvFormat/CsvWorksheet.cs
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ public CsvWorksheet(Stream stream, Encoding fallbackEncoding, char[] autodetectS
 
     public HeaderFooter HeaderFooter => null;
 
-    public CellRange[] MergeCells => null;
+    public CellRange[] MergeCells => [];
 
     public int FieldCount { get; }
 
diff --git a/src/ExcelDataReader/IExcelDataReader.cs b/src/ExcelDataReader/IExcelDataReader.cs
index 15977d23..65869e2b 100644
--- a/src/ExcelDataReader/IExcelDataReader.cs
+++ b/src/ExcelDataReader/IExcelDataReader.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public interface IExcelDataReader : IDataReader
     HeaderFooter HeaderFooter { get; }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Gets the list of merged cell ranges.
+    /// Gets the list of merged cell ranges, or an empty array if there are none.
     /// </summary>
     CellRange[] MergeCells { get; }